Category: Standards and Guidelines

Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines

Also known as: ATAG, ATAG 2.0, Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 2.0

Simply put

The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) are guidelines published by the W3C for making the tools people use to create web content more accessible. They address two goals: making the authoring tools themselves usable by people with disabilities, and helping those tools produce accessible content. Examples of authoring tools include content management systems, code editors, and other software used to build web pages.

Formal definition

ATAG is a W3C Recommendation that provides guidelines for designing web content authoring tools that are both more accessible to authors with disabilities and that support and encourage the production of more accessible web content by all authors. The current version, ATAG 2.0, was published as a W3C Recommendation on September 24, 2015. Its guidelines are generally organized around two parts: Part A addresses making the authoring tool user interface accessible, and Part B addresses supporting the production of accessible content. ATAG is one of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guideline sets and is distinct from WCAG, which addresses the accessibility of the web content itself rather than the tools used to author it. This entry is informational and not legal advice; applicable legal requirements depend on jurisdiction and evolve through regulation and case law.

Why it matters

Most web content today is created through authoring tools rather than hand-coded from scratch. Content management systems, code editors, and similar software shape both who can participate in creating content and how accessible the resulting output is. If an authoring tool is itself inaccessible, people with disabilities may be excluded from roles that involve building or editing web content. ATAG addresses this by focusing on the tools at the point of creation, an area that WCAG, which governs the accessibility of the finished content, does not directly cover.

ATAG matters because it targets accessibility upstream. When authoring tools prompt for alternative text, support accessible templates, and help authors avoid or correct accessibility problems, they can make accessible content easier to produce at scale, including by authors who are not accessibility experts. This complements WCAG rather than replacing it: WCAG defines what accessible content looks like, while ATAG addresses how the tools used to create that content can support and encourage that outcome.

Because ATAG is a set of W3C guidelines rather than a law, it is not itself a legal mandate. Organizations selecting or building authoring tools may find ATAG useful as a benchmark for evaluating whether a tool supports accessible workflows, but conformance with ATAG does not by itself guarantee legal compliance or an accessible end-user experience. Applicable legal requirements depend on jurisdiction and evolve through regulation and case law, and this entry is informational rather than legal advice.

Who it's relevant to

Authoring tool developers and product teams

Teams building content management systems, code editors, page builders, and similar software are ATAG's primary audience. Part A can inform how they make their tool's interface usable by authors with disabilities, and Part B can guide how the tool prompts for and supports accessible output. The ATAG Report Tool can help these teams document how their product measures against the guidelines.

Organizations procuring authoring tools

Compliance officers, accessibility leads, and technology buyers can use ATAG as a benchmark when evaluating which authoring tools support accessible workflows. Choosing a tool that helps authors produce accessible content can make broader accessibility goals easier to meet, though ATAG conformance alone does not guarantee that published content meets WCAG or that an organization satisfies its legal obligations.

Content authors and content teams

Authors who create web content, including those with disabilities, benefit when their tools are both usable and supportive of accessible output. ATAG-aligned tools can make it easier for non-specialists to produce accessible content by surfacing prompts and helping catch issues during authoring.

Accessibility evaluators and consultants

Professionals who assess software accessibility can apply ATAG when reviewing authoring tools specifically, distinguishing this work from WCAG evaluation of the resulting content. The WAI's ATAG Report Tool provides a structured way to work through the requirements and record findings.

Inside ATAG

ATAG Overview

The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) are a set of technical guidelines published by the W3C through the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). They address the accessibility of authoring tools, which are the software applications and services used to create web content, such as content management systems, HTML editors, blogging platforms, and courseware tools.

Part A: Accessible Authoring Tool User Interface

This part addresses whether the authoring tool itself is accessible to authors with disabilities, so that people who use assistive technologies can operate the tool to produce content. It generally aligns authoring tool user interfaces with web accessibility principles comparable to those in WCAG.

Part B: Support for the Production of Accessible Content

This part addresses whether the authoring tool helps authors produce content that conforms to accessibility guidelines. It covers features such as producing accessible output by default, guiding authors toward accessible practices, and assisting with checking and repairing accessibility issues.

Relationship to WCAG

ATAG is complementary to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG addresses the accessibility of the web content itself, while ATAG addresses the tools used to author that content. The two are distinct WAI publications that work together but serve different purposes.

Conformance Structure

Like other WAI guidelines, ATAG is organized around principles, guidelines, and success criteria with conformance levels. Practitioners should consult the current published version and its levels directly rather than assuming criteria carry over unchanged from other WAI documents.

Common questions

Answers to the questions practitioners most commonly ask about ATAG.

Does ATAG apply to the websites and content that authoring tools produce, or to the tools themselves?

ATAG applies to the authoring tools themselves, not directly to the content they output. It is often confused with WCAG, which addresses the accessibility of web content for end users. ATAG instead focuses on two things: making the authoring tool's own user interface accessible (so that people with disabilities can use the tool to create content), and helping authors produce accessible content. While WCAG governs the accessibility of the finished web content, ATAG governs the environment in which that content is created. The two guidelines are complementary rather than interchangeable.

Is conforming to ATAG a legal requirement under the ADA or Section 508?

ATAG is a technical guideline published by the W3C through the Web Accessibility Initiative, not a law. US civil rights and procurement authorities such as the ADA, Section 508, and the Rehabilitation Act are distinct from ATAG and generally center their web-related benchmarks on WCAG rather than ATAG. There is no general legal mandate that requires ATAG conformance in the way certain contexts reference WCAG. Whether ATAG is relevant to a particular obligation depends on the specific regulation, contract, or agency guidance involved, and this entry is not legal advice. Consult qualified legal counsel or current agency rulemaking for questions about specific obligations.

What are the two parts of ATAG, and how do they differ?

ATAG is organized into two parts. Part A addresses making the authoring tool's own user interface accessible, so that authors with disabilities can operate the tool. Part B addresses supporting the production of accessible content, for example by prompting authors, providing accessible templates, and helping check and repair accessibility problems. When evaluating a tool, it is useful to consider both parts separately, since a tool may perform well on one and less well on the other.

How does ATAG relate to WCAG when evaluating a content management system or editor?

ATAG and WCAG address different but related concerns. When evaluating a content management system or editor, ATAG Part A helps you assess whether the editing interface itself is usable by people with disabilities, while ATAG Part B helps you assess whether the tool supports and encourages authors in producing content that can meet WCAG. WCAG remains the reference point for the accessibility of the content ultimately delivered to end users. Using both frameworks together gives a fuller picture than relying on either alone.

What kinds of software might be considered authoring tools under ATAG?

ATAG uses a broad concept of authoring tools, which can include software used to produce or modify web content. This may cover content management systems, WYSIWYG editors, tools that convert documents into web content, and similar software that authors use to create content. The specific applicability to a given product depends on how that product is used and should be assessed against the ATAG guidelines directly rather than assumed.

Does meeting ATAG guarantee that authors will produce accessible content?

No. ATAG conformance supports the creation of accessible content, but it does not guarantee that every piece of content produced with the tool will be accessible or will meet WCAG. Authors can still create content that has accessibility problems, and the accessibility of published content generally needs to be verified separately, including through manual and assistive technology testing rather than automated checks alone. ATAG improves the conditions for producing accessible content but does not replace evaluation of the content itself.

Common misconceptions

ATAG and WCAG are the same thing, or ATAG replaces WCAG.

They are distinct W3C/WAI publications with different scopes. WCAG addresses the accessibility of web content, while ATAG addresses the accessibility of the tools used to create that content. ATAG complements WCAG rather than replacing it, and Part B of ATAG references producing content that meets content accessibility guidelines.

An authoring tool that can output accessible content is fully ATAG-conformant.

ATAG addresses two separate concerns: whether the tool's own user interface is accessible to authors with disabilities (Part A) and whether the tool supports the production of accessible content (Part B). Meeting only one part does not represent conformance with the full guidelines.

Using an ATAG-informed authoring tool guarantees that the content produced is accessible or legally compliant.

An authoring tool can support and encourage accessible output, but authors can still create inaccessible content, and tool support does not by itself guarantee accessibility or immunity from legal claims. Manual review and assistive technology testing of the resulting content remain necessary, and legal compliance depends on the applicable authority and current case law.

Best practices

When evaluating authoring tools, assess both ATAG Part A (whether authors with disabilities can operate the tool) and Part B (whether the tool helps produce accessible content), since these are separate concerns.

Favor authoring tools that produce accessible content by default and that prompt or guide authors toward accessible practices, rather than relying on authors to remember every requirement.

Treat ATAG as complementary to WCAG: use ATAG to inform tool selection and configuration, and use WCAG to evaluate the accessibility of the content the tool produces.

Do not rely on tool-provided accessibility checking alone; supplement it with manual review and assistive technology testing of the published content, as automated checks detect only a portion of issues.

Consult the current published version of ATAG on the W3C/WAI site directly to confirm the applicable guidelines, success criteria, and conformance levels rather than assuming they match other WAI documents.

Remember that ATAG conformance concerns tool and content production quality and is not a substitute for legal advice; consult qualified counsel and current agency rulemaking regarding compliance obligations.